Maryam Azhar - The Youth Blog

Shouldering All Blame: Why Do Religious Authorities Hate Women?

I had the chance to visit the tent-city set up for flood victims in Chung, Lahore on Friday. Less than a hundred meters away was the mosque where Jummah khutba was on-going as we distributed food amongst people who had lost everything in the blink of an eye. This was a good opportunity to bring…

Beyond Fiction: The Disastrous Epidemic Killing Women in Pakistan

Almost a month since Sana Yousuf’s unfortunate murder, I’m still unable to complete gather my thoughts. The anger, the frustration, the lingering sadness and helplessness is all consistently present, but there seems to be no outlet for all of these negative emotions apart from a biweekly rant with a fellow woman. The hope I had…

Insensitivity or Resilience? Dissecting Pakistan’s Unique Response Strategy: Memes

There are few nations in the world which continue to go through all kinds of hardships without ever catching a break. Be it a never-ending political crisis, deep-diving economy, rising poverty, natural disaster or being on the brink of a war – Pakistanis can just never find themselves without one (or multiple) of these situations…

PCT and it’s Disastrous CT’25 Run: Reflecting the National Crisis

Pakistan being the first team to exit the CT’25 that it was hosting was as embarrassing as it gets. Given management was so busy with stadium renovations, perhaps preparing the team wasn’t important enough.

Let’s Never Normalize the “New Normal” in Pakistan

On 5th October, 9:10 am, I had to travel to the village of Heir on Bedian Road, but I couldn’t. The police had closed the route off. My aunt had to travel to Gulberg, but she couldn’t. Ring Road had containers on it. Entries to Ferozepur Road – one of the main routes of the…

Wave of Victory in Bangladesh; Pakistan continues to watch on

5th August, 2024 saw a marvelous event taking place in an otherwise bleak global environment – Bangladeshi protestors, led by students, forced Prime Minister Hasina Wajid to resign, bringing an end to a 15 year old rule. What started as student protests against quota systems a few weeks back, amplified into nation-wide organised resistance which…

United We Win ; Divided We Fall

On this 25th December, as we celebrate the founder’s birthday (read: enjoy our day off from work), it is crucial to take a moment and ponder over this words and thoughts, and compare our present day situation to what the dream of Pakistan really was. Today, we are picking up the most popular slogan associated…

5th Generation Genocide: How Can We Collectively Defeat Israel?

Does the Israeli onslaught on Palestine – for decades, but especially the current attack on Gaza – seem like a normal war to you? It does not. Well, part of the reason is that a legitimate WAR requires both sides to have an army, which Palestine does not have. Beyond that though, Israel is doing…

It’s Black and White: Not Every Story Has “Two Sides”

Israel is bombing Gaza again. Palestinian lives are being lost again. And yet again, we are hearing from the ‘gatekeepers of world peace’ that they will offer unconditional support to – ISRAEL. We are again hearing from influential celebrities about “peace” on “both sides. We are yet again witnessing the ignorance of the real problem:…

Paying in Blood : Current Cost of Living in Pakistan.

Living in Pakistan is becoming harder by the day as expenses continue to rise with little to no increments in earnings. The country is faced with recession and inflation simultaneously, forcing people to move abroad – even the staunchest patriots. Imagine you’re a father of a toddler. Your wife asks you to bring milk on…